Japan-India cooperation in conflict mitigation will help respond disaster recovery among Asian communities facing conflicts

By Mehul Pandya and Vandana Chauhan*
India and Japan individually and jointly offer a wide range of capabilities to protect Asia from disaster risks. The ongoing visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India for the Indo-Japan Summit offers an opportunity to enhance this leadership.
In India-Japan Joint Statement during the visit of Prime Minister of India to Japan in November 11, 2016 the two Prime Ministers shared their intention to expand dialogue and cooperation in the defence sector, to cover exchange of observers in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) exercises, and exchange and train personnel in key fields of mutual interest.

The statement acknowledged the importance of the World Tsunami Awareness Day to raise awareness, promote better understanding of tsunami risks and develop tools to address tsunami at least in Asia if not beyond. An MoU was also signed between the Government of Gujarat in India and Hyogo Prefectural Government in Japan to promote mutual cooperation between the two in the fields of academics, business, cultural cooperation, disaster management and environmental protection.
Opportunities for leadership in Asia:

India is fast emerging as a key humanitarian donor in Asia. Joint humanitarian response and aid operations with Japan can be even more effective and better targeted in Asia to address the Humanitarian Action with both, immediate response as well as long term resilience building. Key areas for action are cash transfer and area based approach in urban settings from response to recovery phases.
Fulfilling the commitments of Grand Bargain: UNHCR and Japan are co-conveners of Grand Bargain work stream on "Reducing Management Cost". The idea of the work stream is how to spend less on each US $ that goes to the disaster action. India can join the work stream and contribute to make international humanitarian actions more effective, efficient, and coherent based on India’s experience within and outside India as a humanitarian actor. Financial inclusion is one such area. Local procurement is another.
Strengthening sub-regional organizations such as ASEAN, SAARC, (Economic Cooperation Organization) ECO, and The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Asia is urgent. It is urgent because of the rapid spread of risk as well as exposure of economic development to risk in the region. India and Japan can jointly orient the actions of these three regional cooperation mechanisms to risk pooling and risk transfer. In addition India and Japan can help Asian countries for example with mountain railway safety enhancement assistance. This will benefit India, Japan, and all the participating countries of Asia.
Strengthening (Indo-Pacific) trilateral cooperation between India, Japan and Australia is important for Asia. These countries have collaborated in the Tsunami response during 2004. Time has came to build on this success. The first Japan-India-Australia Trilateral Dialogue was held in Delhi, on June 2015. This triologue laid out a way ahead. Time has come for India and Japanese scientists to accelerate the pace and redefine the agenda for this cooperation not only in tsunami but also cyclone and sea level rise risks.
Joint work programme on addressing climate risks in Asia can help achieve goals of Paris Agreement to which Japan and India both are committed. Climate induced extreme events are on a rise. Joint action can help Asia reduce disaster risks coming out of extreme events such as heatwaves, floods, or cyclones. Ongoing research by IDS, UK, Kyoto University, Japan, and Norway University clearly indicate need for more joint work on how India and Japan can inform transformation of Asia to green economy. For example, Japan and India can invest more to fill in infrastructure gap in Asia; finance and share technology with fast growing cities to launch innovative bus rapid transit system; make river basins — Ganga and Mekong to start with — climate resilient; and invest in sustainable agriculture productivity improvement through cooperatives in Vietnam and Combodia.
Joint implementation of Asia Regional Plan (ARP) for Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. In many ways the ARP is a creation of India and Japan in order to take more concrete measures to reduce risks faced in Asia. At Asian Ministerial Conference, 2016 in Delhi. ARP was launched and accepted by all. Several important implementations steps are taken in various countries beyond India and Japan. This includes Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia, to name a few. India and Japan lead ARP and more systematic and system-wide approach will help Asia lead Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) implementation with greater innovations and better knowledge. Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), for example, is one such network that may be of use.
Peace, security and conflict management in Asia is not easy. Though per se this is not a disaster risk reduction item, often disasters strike in the hotbeds of ongoing conflict areas or fragile social context. India and Japan share long Buddhist tradition and values for building and keeping peace. More work on articulating peace building and conflict mitigation will not only help in responding to floods or cyclones in Asia, but also turn disaster recovery in to peace building effort in Asian communities facing conflict.
Strategic use for space-based technologies for averting natural disasters and their management. ESCAP's Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development or RESAP is a unique regional cooperation model of the United Nations. India and Japan both have supported RESAP to grow. Through RESAP, space-faring countries such as China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam offer satellite images, information and capacity development to other countries of Asia on the use of satellite technology for disaster risk reduction. Time has come for India and Japan to take a lead and accelerate cutting edge space technology cooperation with UN ESCAP on and around the SAARC satellite that India has recently launched for the SAARC countries.

India and Japan are on their way to transformation, both, within and beyond. This Second Summit in Ahmedabad offers a special opportunity to accelerate the pace and further target the results of their joint leadership in Asia.

---

*With the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI)

Comments

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Kailash Satyarthi NGO makes slum kids laud RSS founder Hedgewar as freedom fighter

By Rajiv Shah In a move which may raise many an eyebrow, a Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi-supported child rights NGO has celebrated Prime Minister Narendra Modi-intitiated Har Ghar Tiranga by commemorating 75 freedom fighters by "narrating their famous deeds and chanting slogans of each leader", including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai and a person who had little or nothing common with the freedom movement -- RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. A communique from the Kailash Satyarthi Childrens Foundation (KSCF), which organised the event, said among the freedom fighters celebrated by 75 children on the occasion of 75 years of India's independence placing photographs of each freedom fighter included that of Hedgewar, who is alleged to have maintained a distance from Indian Independence movement led by Gandhiji. According to Hedgewar's biography, when Gandhiji launched the Salt Satyagraha in 1930, Hedgewar sent information ev

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam* The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Golwalkar's views on tricolour, martyrs, minorities, caste as per RSS archives

By Shamsul Islam* First time in the history of independent India, the in-charge minister of the Cultural Ministry in the current Modi government, Prahlad Singh Patel, has glorified MS Golwalkar, second supremo of the RSS and the most prominent ideologue of the RSS till date, on his birth anniversary, February 19. In a tweet he wrote : “Remembering a great thinker, scholar, and remarkable leader #MSGolwalkar on his birth anniversary. His thoughts will remain a source of inspiration & continue to guide generations.”

Gujarat's 'low-key' communalism: right-wing groups compete for anti-Muslim space

By Rajiv Shah Noticing the emergence of a novel trend, a just-released report based on a fact-finding team's observations following its interaction in particular with Hindu and Muslim political activists, administrators and police officials, has claimed that a major reason why chasm between the two communities in Gujarat has lately reached new heights is, a veritable competition between Hindu right-wing groups and leaders to capture the existing communal space. Titled "Hindu Right, Communal Riots and Demolitions: Emerging Pattern of Communal Riots in India", the report has been prepared against the backdrop of what it calls "low intensity" communalism which has characterised rioting in Gujarat in the recent past, especially after the 2002 communal carnage, one of the worst in Independent India. Especially focusing on riots in two Gujarat towns, Himmatnagar and Khambhat, which took place on April 10, the day clashes broke also out in different parts of India on

Gujarat govt 'contradicts' MHA memo while freeing Bilkis Bano gangrape convicts

By Our Representative The All-India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA) has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah "must answer for the decision to free Bilkis Bano's gang rapists." In a statement, AIPWA has wondered, "What was the basis of the Gujarat Government’s decision to free those men on August 15, 2022, to celebrate what the PM Modi calls India’s Amrit Kaal? Was remission and freedom a reward for rape and murder of Muslims?" The statement comes amidst an Ahmedabad-based legal rights non-pofit, which took up the cause of Bilkis Bano and fought her case right up to the Supreme Court, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), suggesting that the Gujarat government move to allow remission to the convicts contradicts the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Guidelines for Granting Special Remission to Prisoners on August 15, 2022 (75th anniversary of Independence), January 26, 2023, and again on August 15, 2023. Citing the MHA notificat

Need to ask at today's 'critical juncture' of India's history: Whose Freedom@75?

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ* The official propaganda states that: “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence and the glorious history of it's people, culture and achievements. This Mahotsav is dedicated to the people of India who have not only been instrumental in bringing India thus far in its evolutionary journey but also hold within them the power and potential to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of activating India 2.0, fuelled by the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The official journey of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav commenced on 12th March 2021 which started a 75-week countdown to our 75th anniversary of independence and will end post a year on 15th August 2023.” So as India completes a landmark seventy-five years of freedom – a platinum jubilee – the only question one needs to ask at this critical juncture of the country’s history is “whose freedom@75?” Since March 2020, it has been a di

Har ghar tiranga: will the hungry bellies raise their hand to unfurl the national flag?

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Indians are going to unfurl the tricolour to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence on 15th of August 2022. Indian freedom struggle has not only shaped India as a modern constitutional democracy but also shaped the nature of state, society and citizenship. The anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, anti-feudal and anti-imperialist struggle were the four pillars of Indian freedom struggle that laid the foundation of a sovereign nation state promised to pursue a society based on socialist, scientific and secular values to ensure egalitarian citizenship rights without any form of discrimination. These inalienable values are central to the unity, integrity, peace, prosperity and progress of India as a multicultural society and secular state. It is time to celebrate these values and promises of Indian independence, a product of struggles and sacrifice of millions of working-class people across the country. India at 75 is still a young nation but old e

RSS, Sangh Parivar consider tricolour as "state flag" and not "national flag"

By Teesta Setalvad* Today, when the nation has been independent for 67 years, the Sangh Parivar is set to launch ‘Tiranga yatras’ and Satyagrahas to defend the honour of the flag and the nation. Yet when the Indian people were involved in the decades-long struggle for freedom against British imperialism, the RSS was conspicuous by its absence in the struggle. When thousands of people faced lathis, bullets and jail sentences for hoisting the tiranga and participated all over the country in satyagraha during the Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements against the British Raj, the Sangh publicly took the stand that it would not take part in the movement and seldom missed the opportunity of assuring the British rulers that they would keep to the right side of colonial law and avoid any clash with the authorities. Of course the reason given for this was that the Sangh was secretly strengthening itself and would take on British imperialism only when it was strong enough to do so! A simil

Counterview

Search This Blog